The daggers were out for Donald Trump following a crushing election defeat.

His deputy and his own son blamed the President's war in Iran for a Republican rout at the hands of voters.

In a series of seismic shocks, the rival Democrats seized control of the US Congress in the mid-term ballots.

Voters passed a damning verdict on Mr Trump, having become enraged by high inflation and rising fuel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East that has caused global shocks. Vice-President JD Vance issued a brutal post mortem of Republican Party losses – as he eyes a presidential run in 2028.

Top Republicans and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) faithful also rounded on the President, branding the wipeout a 'disaster of the first magnitude' as he faces seeing his agenda crippled in his final two years in office.

'The reason we lost is the war,' Mr Vance said in a lengthy post on social media, adding 'many people who voted for' Mr Trump in 2024 had turned their backs on him.

He also attacked supporters of the war, which has cost the US more than £35billion and shows no sign of resolution.

'If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next six years was worth it, then do so,' Mr Vance wrote.

'Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest.

'But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.'

The President's oldest child, Don Jr, joined in, siding with 'every word' of the VP's criticism as he shared it online.

His father simply shrugged off the complaints during a rambling speech in front of the cameras, as he all but ignored his party's midterm battering.

Instead, he focused on his White House vanity project to build a $400million (£300million) ballroom, leading to furious criticism in Washington that he was 'tone deaf' and 'ignoring the American people' struggling to pay their bills.

Amid mounting pressure, Mr Trump was forced to concede that Mr Vance's analysis had been 'largely true', adding: 'It drove the gasoline up a little bit – short term – and probably that's true.'

But he remained defiant about attacking Tehran, insisting it had been 'worth it'. He added: 'If I had to do it again, I'd have to do it again because long term, that's the only answer. You can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon.'

The Vice-President's intervention came as the Republicans continued to lick their wounds. The Grand Old Party was engulfed by a 'blue tsunami' as they lost both the Senate and the House of Representatives, with Democrat victories in states that even a year ago were thought unwinnable.

The political earthquake sent the Left into overdrive as they took deep-red heartlands such as Kansas, which elected a Democrat senator for the first time since the Great Depression.

They also clinched a stunning victory in Texas, securing their first senator there in almost 30 years after new Democrat darling James Talarico thumped the Trump-backed candidate. He is now being talked of as potential 2028 challenger for the White House.

As the President's political obituaries were being written, the White House sought to remind people who was in charge, posting a picture of a clenched-fisted Mr Trump in the Oval Office, with the caption: 'PSA [Public service announcement]: Trump is still your president.'

The wipeout means Washington DC will face two years of political deadlock, while the President battles against the Democrats to pass future legislation and push through policies.

'The American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence of the failed lame duck president, Donald J Trump,' said Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff as he celebrated his re-election in Georgia.

Although Mr Trump was not on the ballot – despite telling voters to act as if his name was on the paper – the mid-terms were effectively a nationwide referendum on the President.

'I wasn't on the ballot – if I was on the ballot, we'd have won easily,' he told Politico, blaming 'poor candidates'. He later congratulated his rivals on a 'good job' and said he would work with, rather than against, them.

In the UK, Prime Minister Andy Burnham appeared to twist the knife as he said that Americans had voted for action on the cost of living.

'The world has an opportunity now to unite around the issue that is affecting us all, and that's the cost of living,' Mr Burnham added.

'I can't get people's cost of living pressures down until the conflict in the Middle East is resolved, the conflict in Ukraine started by Russia. These are the things we have to focus on now, and I hope the world has a moment to do that.'

As the fallout continued, a civil war within the Republican Party appeared to brew, as high-profile members turned on Mr Trump.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis described it as 'close to an extinction-level event for Republicans', taking aim at scandals such as the Epstein Files, which the President sought to bury.

'It's a total, complete rejection of President Trump. It's on him,' Bill Miller, a top Republican lobbyist in Texas, told the BBC. 'This is a disaster of the first magnitude. Nobody saw it coming.'

'It was just one mistake after another,' said Gregg Peppin, a Republican strategist in Minnesota. 'Clearly, in state after state, people did not like the President's policies.'

Rumours also circulated in Washington over who would ultimately be the fall guy for the catastrophic losses, with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, potentially in the firing line.

Mr Trump dismissed claims he was thinking of sacking his defence chief, saying: 'I think he's doing a good job.'

Losing both chambers of Congress means Trump will enter a 'lame duck' period in his final two years in office, with Democrats able to stymie his policy agenda.

Instead of pushing laws through Congress, the President will now have to rely on executive orders in areas where he retains authority, such as tariffs, immigration, foreign policy and military action, and the use of his veto to stop Democrat policies becoming law.

He will also face Democrat-led corruption investigations into himself, his allies and family, and could even be impeached for a third time.

Democratic congressman Robert Garcia, who will lead some of the probes as chairman of the House oversight committee, issued a blunt warning to Mr Trump and his allies: 'Lawyer up.'

Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries announced he will seek to be Speaker of the House when Congress votes in January. He called the mid-term results a 'stunning rebuke of MAGA extremism'.